Wednesday, August 13, 2008

It's called the Chinese Agricultural Gymnasium. There is no agriculture in sight, but Greco-Roman wrestler Dremiel Byers of Kings Mountain, N.C., is in the house, representing the U.S. in the largest weight class.

Byers is a few minutes from competing in his first match here. There are 20 wrestlers in his event -- the heavyweight division, 264.5 pounds and under. He made weight and faces a wrestler from the Ukraine in the first round. His draw isn't the greatest -- he did not get a first-round bye -- but it could have been worse.

The favored wrestler in his half of the draw will be Cuba's Mijain Lopez, whom Byers would probably have to upset in the semifinals if he was headed for gold. We'll see how it goes.